If there ever was a time
by Feel of Cotton
Summary: Based on the Jess spinoff concept. Starts with an unusual perspective... wil be an R/J (because Literati reigns supreme!) with elements of L/L and L/D mixed in. This is my first fanfic (or any fic, for that matter) so please review! Thanks!
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters. But if Jess is up for sale, I would gladly mortgage my house……. J

*********************************************************************

He exhaled slowly as he heard the distinct shrill of the feminine voice at the end of the line. 

"Hello? Hello? … Jimmy, I know it's you- I have Caller ID. No one else would be calling me from California. Jimmy, I know you're there" she persisted.  It had been 15 years since they had parted. 5 since they had last spoken. 

"Liz…." Another protracted sigh. "So… How are you?" he asked in such a manner as if he were asking if the question were appropriate at all, given the situation.

"Please. I know you don't give a shit Jim. It's been too long to bother with pleasantries. What is it that you want?" His ex-wife was still as abrasive and impatient as the day he met her. Her tempestuosness was what initially drew him to her. That was long ago. 

Jimmy fumbled with the frayed edges of the picture. It had been creased and recreased a countless number of times, from city to city, state to state, journey to destination, it had been with him always.  In it, he saw a vision of himself 16 years earlier, eyes shining, laughing at the camera, with a young child perched atop his shoulders mirroring his expression. He couldn't have been older than 18 months at that time, his son. _My son…_ Jimmy's eyes began to water. He closed his eyes, pinched the bridge of his nose and cleared his throat.

"Jess. I wa-I need to see Jess." 

She snorted. "Is this some sort of joke?"she asked incredulously. "The hell do you want with him?"

"Just-can you just tell me where I can reach him?" He became flustered and his cheeks grew hot as he spoke. _How could  I have expected this to turn out any differently? The kid is probably going to spit in my face, if he bothers to see me at all. Nothing more than I deserve. _His heart was leaping out of his chest, anxious for her reply. 

A long pause. 

"He's not here."

"I see."

"He's in Star's Hollow"

"Star's Hollow?" _Star's Hollow? What on earth was in….. Luke._ His heart sank. Liz was tough, but her older brother was going to be a nearly impenetrable fortress.  

"Yeah, well, I can't stay on the phone forever. I have things to do"

"Sure. Well… thanks. I-"

"Listen. The kid is messed up enough as it is. Don't do him any favors." With that, she hung up the phone.

Jimmy held the phone to his ear, seemingly unaware of the dialtone that had replaced the sound of Liz's voice. "I'll try", he whispered. He was staring at the picture. _My son…_

A/N This is my first fanfic. Let me know what you think! (Sorry so short!)  The next chapter will be much longer… Promise!


	2. Chapter One

Disclaimer: I don't own the show or the characters, but if Jess is up for sale, let me know……. J

Jimmy absent-mindedly hung up the phone as he mulled over his next step. His father's words echoed in his ears. _You are his father Jimmy. His father… No matter what has happened flesh and blood will always bind you together… You must find him before it's too late… you still have a chance_.  The words would have seemed hollow and cliché, had they not been the last words Salvatore Mariano spoke to his son before he died. Jimmy chuckled to himself at the screenplay-like absurdity of him trying to find his estranged son after 15 years. But yet, the chain pulled at his heart- strings. He wore his father's necklace around his neck- it was a gold chain with a picture of his patron saint, Saint Michael etched onto a gold oval. It was as though it was burning a hole in his chest. The weight of his father's words was pressing onto the pendant, bearing down heavily on his conscience, until the point that he felt it just might crush him.  

Sitting there that day in the hospital room, three weeks earlier, watching his father's life slip away, Jimmy came to the realization that he was grateful to be there at the end.  That man, laying in the bed, old and frail, was the one who for so many years had been Jimmy's primary source of strength. His body might have been ravaged by asbestos, emphysema and all the other ailments that plagued him from a life of manual labor, but his father's character and spirit would always be indelibly imprinted on Jimmy's mind. _Now that was a man… I'm nothing but a fucking joke_. 

He stopped himself. Getting caught up in a web of self-pity and doubt was something he could no longer afford. He picked up the phone again and started to make the arrangements.  Momentum was on his side. _You still have a chance…_ He was going to Hartford. And then. Stars Hollow. _I am going to see my son…_

A sliver of light crept through the space in the blinds and hit Jess directly above his right eye. He twitched from the surge of heat to his face, and then began to stir.  Groggily, he opened his eyes. Aside from the errant ray of light, the rest of the room was quiet and dark, and his vision slowly adjusted to his surroundings. He raised his cheek off her shoulder and gazed sleepily at the wonder that lay before him.

Rory Gilmore.

Gingerly lifting his body off of hers, he propped himself up on his elbow so that he could drink in more of her intoxicating beauty. Her chest rose and fell peacefully, eyes closed, slight smile playing on those beautiful lips.  Chestnut hair splayed out all around her like the picture of a goddess. In the darkness, he could trace the figure of her body covered by the thin sheet of his bed. He ran his fingers through her hair and smiled. The events leading up to this impromptu sleepover were, in Jess' mind, nothing short of miraculous. He shut his eyes, replaying the scenes over and over in his memory…

A/N I know I know! I will post more later on this evening. I just really wanted to establish why it is that Jimmy is coming for Jess. Thank you so much for all of the kind reviews and words of support. Please let me know what you think? (I am open to suggestions of where you think this should go!)


End file.
